Author Archives: foglemanlc

Feminist Jiu Jitsu!

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Back in the beginning of March, I participated in a Gender Equity Week event. On Thursday, March 7th from 6:30-7:30pm, I was in the Silcox Gym in TD Arena learning about self-dense and jiu jitsu! The event was officially titled “Feminist Jiu Jitsu for Self Defense Training.” However, it welcomed individuals of all genders and identities to come learn a few moves to feel safer and confident as we move about our daily lives.

I will admit, I was a little skeptical when deciding on if I should go or not, just because I had never tried any sort of jiu jitsu or martial arts before. Also, I couldn’t find a friend that was free to go with me. But, I had a friend that went to middle school with me that had done jiu jitsu for several years, and ever since then, i vowed that I would try it one day. So I told myself I was gonna go no matter what (even if I was going to make a fool of myself or be a bit awkward at first).

So I went to the gym and the first thing I saw was a large mat (like what you would expect to see for a wrestling match) on the floor. That made me nervous, but yet intrigued, because like I said, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. There was a pretty large group of students there already. I started talking to a few people and quickly found out that the majority of them were all involved in one of the Women and Gender Studies courses and attending the event was mandatory for them. They all seemed excited though, and that made me feel more comfortable and excited too. Soon other students, outside of that class (like me), showed up too. Then a few minutes later, older students and a handful of adults came in, all dressed in the robe-looking things (typically referred to as a “gi” – I learned). One of them was the instructor of the Women and Gender Studies course, and then there was a husband and wife, who I found out actually teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes at their place on James Island, as well as through a course in the College! I had no idea that there was an actual class available for sign-up at CofC where you could learn jiu jitsu – seriously, it counts for a PE credit, crazy! The other older students (there were about five girls) had either been members of their class they teach at the College or had been going to their separate practice.

They started by showing us a few demonstrations. It was insane! There was one 13-year-old girl and she was going against the adult man (he said he was 250 lbs) and she would literally flip him over her shoulder like it was nothing!

After they blew our minds, they explained that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is all about leverage and angles, not about strength. So this made more sense about how she was able to defend herself so easily against him. They explained that learning these moves and getting into the habit of practicing jiu jitsu is not only good for the body but for the mind as well. It was honestly so inspiring and so cool! For the next half, they showed us four moves for us to practice on each other and have to take away with us for the night. Although they were simple (e.g. how to break away from a simple arm-hold), they made you feel so empowered and a little more confident when walking around campus. It was such a cool experience and I am so glad I ended up going! I hope I go to another session like this (maybe over the summer?) and hopefully even take the course at CofC in the future!

 

Volunteering at Lowcountry Food Bank!

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In the beginning of March (Saturday March 2nd), I spent my morning volunteering with the College’s Center for Civic Engagement. From 8:30am-12:30pm, I worked helped at the Lowcountry Food Bank in North Charleston!

I have volunteered here one other time before, but this time I was helping with the CSFP, which stands for Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Myself, along with our CCE leaders, Makaila Davis and Susannah McFaul, and a few other students helped pack boxes for food insecure senior citizens in need!

When we arrived at the warehouse, we first were introduced to the other groups we would be working with for the day. We got placed with a local high school from the area, as well as a few other couples. We then got a quick tour of the workshop and assembly line. The manager explained that we should spread out and be stationed at different spots in order for everything to flow more smoothly. Thus, we had people at the front – this is where they would assemble the boxes – then in the middle – this is where we would place items such as, rice, beans, canned tomatoes, applesauce, juice, and other non-perishables in the boxes – and then at the end – this is where the boxes would be tapped and closed up for transport to their location. There were also people needed to collect the excess packaging that came off of the items were placing in the boxes we were giving away. For example, we went through soooo much cardboard and plastic that day, because the food items came in these huge pallets, and we all went through at least two of them (and they were all taller than me!). Therefore, people were needed on the other side to take these parts and break them down and put them in the recycling pile. I was in the middle section, helping to put rice and beans into the boxes.

We packaged boxes for about three hours and the production moved smoothly for the most part. Communication was significant to the process, because if someone needed to take a break or was falling behind, they could ask someone to step in to their place. I had to switch places a few times and go to a few different stations because it just worked out that that was where I was most needed. It was truly a “go with the flow” type of job, but at the same time, we all accomplished so much!

We ended up packing up about 800 boxes I think! This was a fun experience, because I got to meet fellow students and others from our community, who all wanted to help out others. While we did make an impact in the world of hunger in the Charleston community, part of me did feel as if all the waste that was involved in the process was almost counterintuitive in a way. For example, even though we were sending all the food off to be eaten (and not wasted), all the plastic that came from the packaging seemed so wasteful in a way. This showed how everything is connected and in a way, always comes back around, and must be thought of in a fully sustainable way.

Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit

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A couple of weekends ago, on March 30th, I was lucky enough to participate in the Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit! The event was from 10:45am-3:45pm and was hosted by CofC’s very own Honors College. The day welcomed all those who were dedicated to learning more about the pressing issues facing both our society in general, as well as our Charleston community. Students, faculty, and community leaders joined in the Stern Center for a panel discussion, followed by boxed lunches provided by City Bistro! The remaining hour and a half, we spent time participating in breakout sessions.

Dr. Folds-Bennett introduced the panelist that would be speaking on the topic of “Redefining Leadership.” There were five individuals, all different ages and having different backgrounds and professions. Their leadership ranged from being involved in the Charleston School District, the Shared Future Project, the College’s Farmer’s Market, the League of Women Voters, a local education-rights activist, and a very own CofC faculty member! These individuals were all asked several questions from an Honors College student that was in charge of leading the discussion. Questions were all surrounding the topic of leadership (i.e. “What kind of leader are you?” or “Can a leader be made or are you born a leader?”). Each member offered a unique perspective to each question and was able to pull from their own experiences to provide the audience with a wide range of answers.

After several aspects of leadership had been touched on, the discussion dove into more about the issues our Charleston community faces. Most of the panelists answered with something similar to the following; racism, classism, education, climate change/sustainability, and many more that most people do not even realize. This lead into the audience being given the opportunity to then ask the panelists any questions they wish. The panelists, again, answered the questions thoughtfully and offered several solutions and perspectives.

After a quick break for lunch, we were each given the choice as to which small-group “breakout session” we wished to participate in. The choices ranged from justice, to southern hospitality, to hunger and homelessness, to leadership. I chose the topic of southern hospitality, because underneath the description it touched on environmental aspects, which are of interest to me.

Thus, in my small group, we first talked about the “myth” that surrounds our city and about how when you tell people you go to the College of Charleston they are in awe because “Charleston is so beautiful!” However, in reality, those that have not spent a lot of time in this city, do not really know or understand that Charleston faces many societal problems, ranging from racism, classism, gentrification, sustainability issues, food waste, and large amounts of homelessness. We like to put bandaids on these issues and make the tourist areas (i.e. King Street) all pretty, for economic reasons, when the majority of the rest of the peninsula is suffering in other ways. This was one of the most influential parts of the day, in my opinion, because it made me think of our class, and how everything is truly connected. It made me use more systems thinking and more interdisciplinary.

At the end of the small discussion, each of the groups came together and told the larger, entire room about their findings and conclusions. Overall, I thought the day was productive; I learned about several problems that exist around me all the time that I had no idea about. However, at the same time, I still feel overwhelmed, because there are so many! All I can do is continue to talk about these problems with other people and educate others and do my part to ease their effects.

 

 

Volunteering at One80 Place!

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A couple of weeks ago, I volunteered at a local homeless shelter called One80 Place. This particular location offers food and shelter to those in need, as its staff and volunteers work hard each day to become one step closer to ending both homelessness and hunger in the Charleston area.

I signed up for my volunteer slot just two days prior to when I had the free time and wished to go, however I know most of the slots for volunteering fill up very fast! There are availabilities to volunteer all throughout the day(  breakfast, lunch and dinner), everyday! Help is always needed and appreciated. I chose to work a dinner session on a Monday evening (6-8pm).

Upon arrival, I was given a nametag and apron. I was shown around the kitchen area by one of the head of staff members. I was soon joined by three other volunteers; they were all much older than me, as they were all out of college and I was simply a “freshman at CofC” (my response when they asked “what do you do?”) This was the first difference I noticed in the experience, simply within the first few minutes of the task.

After becoming familiar with who I would be working with, we organized our meals for the evening. We would be serving chicken from Leon’s and salad from Kitchen 208! It kind of blew my mind a little bit when she told me this, because it made me happy to think that sort of what we would think to be “high-class” restaurants that are downtown like this, would be willing to recycle and make enough of their food to donate to those in need. It was refreshing to hear that this food would not be going to waste and those in need would no go hunger, and that I would get to be apart of it all.

We formed an assembly line between the four of us volunteers and we were each assigned a specific food group to serve. I was in charge of the desserts (which made it even easier to interact with those making their choices, because I mean, who doesn’t LOVE dessert??)

Soon individuals and full families began making their way through the line, filling their trays as high as they could go. While I understood this was the second difference in the experience, both physically, as I was on one side of the food and they were on the other, as well as financially, it was both a rewarding and both discouraging experience. Rewarding, because I got to speak to some many interesting people and hear about their stories. For example, one man asked us if he too, could come back and volunteer to serve food with us one day. He told us that he used to be in the restaurant business for twenty-years. Discouraging, because I learned that unless people truly take the time to either partake in experiences like this one or stop to talk to individuals on the street curb, they might have a misconception of how homeless people in general. I learned that we as a society need to do a better job of thinking of ways to live more sustainably and less greedy, so less people have to suffer from homelessness and hunger in the long run.

Overall, the experience opened my eyes and made me want to be more self-aware with my both my food and financial choices, and help those out in need when I can.

One80 Place is located on Walnut Street downtown and is very accessible for those that wish to get involved and volunteer!

 

**Also, I have no photos from this experience because we were not allowed to have our phones out at all, as it was a sensitive environment**

“This State is poised to become the first to ban foam food Packaging”

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News Report 

  1. Title of my News Report and article:
    1. “This State is poised to become the first to ban foam food Packaging”
      1. Found on National Geographic
      2. Written by Laura Parker
  2. My citation for my article is as follows:
    1. Parker, Laura. “This State Is Poised to Become the First to Ban Foam Food Packaging.” Maryland Is Poised to Become the First State to Ban Foam Food Packaging, National Geographic Society, 5 Apr. 2019.
  3. Here is a direct link to my article:
    1. www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/maryland-styrofoam-food-packaging-ban/
  4. The 5 W’s and How:
    1. What: Maryland is anticipated to become the first state to ban the distribution of single-use foam containers for food production (i.e. for take-out orders/leftovers in restaurants and businesses – however, meat packaging would be allowed). The bill is still awaiting approval from the Governor, but apparently only has about six days to decide, and he has made no indication as to what side he will be voting towards. Del. Brooke Lierman has been waiting for the success of the House of Delegates to have enough votes to veto the Governor for the last three years; she was quoted that she feels that the community has reached a “tipping point” and is ready for a change when it comes to helping out the environment.
    2. Who: Del. Brooke Lierman, along with a vote of 100-37 of the House of Delegates in Maryland voted to pass the bill, while they now await Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision on whether to pass the bill or veto it (*hint: either way, they already have enough votes to override the veto).
    3. When: The article came out on April 5th, 2019. It said that the Governor had just six days to make his decision about the bill, however, when I give the News Report presentation (Wed April 10th), he should only have one day remaining, and the official results should be found out very soon. If the bill is passed it will go into official affected the following summer (June/July 2020).
    4. Where: Maryland
    5. Why: The citizens are pushing for this bill, because they feel that the ban on foam, single-use containers is a significant first step toward becoming a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly community. They understand that these products do not go away and thus end up causing pollution elsewhere, and they are striving to be one of the first states in the country to break this cycle.
    6. How: The group of state delegates voted for the bill, and came out with a 100-37 vote in its favor for it to be passed. Now, once it is passed, changes must be put into place by local businesses as they look for take-out food container alternatives.
  5. Impact:
    1. For my News Report, I chose to examine how the passing of this ban would have impacts in three ways:
      1. Environmentally
        1. If the containers were banned, the number of non-recyclable and single-use items would decrease in the community
          1. This would mean an overall decrease in pollution/litter not only seen within the state of Maryland, but in the waters on the east coast (as our garbage always makes its way there eventually)
      2. Economically
        1. Because the number of pollutants and litter would decrease, this mean less money would need to be spent by the government and locals picking it up and trying to find ways to dispose of it
        2. The article mentioned that small business owners may struggle if this law was passed because foam is very inexpensive and efficient
          1. Spending more of their costs on an alternative could hurt them
      3. Socially
        1. The law could bring people in the community together
          1. Many see it as a victory, as they have been striving for a common goal, and want to continue to work toward living sustainably
        2. The law could divide people in the community
          1. Small business owners could turn against those that voted in favor of the bill, because they feel they are going to take a hit financially because of the ban
  6. Relevance to ENVT 200:
    1. Sustainability
      1. The 3 E’s (Environmental, Social, and Economic)
    2. Systems Thinking
      1. Can look at how the law getting passed has several both pros and cons in different eyes of the beholders
    3. Ethics/Value
      1. Restaurant and business owners are forced to take a look at what they are providing their consumers and make sure they are telling the truth and not breaking the new law if it passes
    4. Policy
      1. Gov. Larry Hogan still remains on the fence (at this point) about the bill and still has to vote (enough delegate votes to overrule a veto)
  7. Questions:
    1. What happens if the governor vetoes it?
      1. Does this show he is not supporting what the majority of his citizens are striving toward? How will they react?
    2. Will local businesses comply? What true economic impacts will they feel? What changes and alternatives will they choose to make?
    3. If passed, what will the next environmentally-friendly law look like for Maryland?

Day of Service

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On Saturday, February 23rd, I participated in the College’s 2nd Annual Day of Service event from 10am to 3:30pm. The event was coordinated and hosted by the combination of the Center for Civic Engagement and the Sustainability Literacy Institute. The purpose of the day was to recruit as many student volunteers as possible to become informed and educated on issues in our community, as well as help to combat them. A few partner organizations that students were able to sign up to volunteer with for the day included: The Greenheart Project, Keep Charleston Beautiful, Habitat for Humanity, The Fisher House Foundation, and Charleston Area Senior Center/Meals on Wheels. I signed up to help with Keep Charleston Beautiful, because I volunteered with the project in fall and enjoyed being a part of it so much that I figured why not help out again!

The day began with all the groups meeting in Stern for a presentation from a Sustainability Literacy Institute representative. Like what we have been discussing in class, we learned about the three components that make up sustainability and how it is very much so interdisciplinary. The speaker did a great job of including examples that helped explain how our society, economics, and environment all feed and bounce off of one another and have connected benefits and consequences.

Next, we were served lunch and met up with our small groups. Our Keep Charleston Beautiful group was led by senior Sydney Zazzaro, a team member for the Center for Civic Engagement. We all introduced each other and Sydney gave us an overview of the serious issues regarding litter in the Charleston community. She explained how more wealthy, more tourist-rich areas, such as King Street, are provided with street sweeping and their own trash pickups, while other regions, such as where there is government houses, suffers from more street litter due to no trash pickup duties. We had a discussion about how this cycle leads to gentrification in Charleston and causes issues in all three areas; societal, economic, and environmental.

After our discussion, around 12pm, we went outside and began the litter cleanup! We first picked up on more wealthy areas and then moved to less-affluent regions on the peninsula. I would say the majority of the trash we picked up were cigarettes. In both regions (both affluent and non-affluent), there were SO MANY cigarettes all over the ground! We used an app from the aquarium and I think the total came out to be around 800 (and that is just all that were able to pick up with our grabbers!). This really came as a shock to me, because I figured now-a-days more people have switched over to electronic cigarettes, which are still harmful to the body, but now that I think about it, would not be nearly as harmful to our environment as a whole! Other common items we found were plastic food wrappers.

Several hours and trash bags later, we had a reflection and discussion about the differences we found in these areas in terms of litter. While picking up the trash, part of me felt empowered and enthused in a way, because for a second I thought I was making a slight difference by getting rid of the litter on the street. But for the most part, I was a frustrated and confused, because I didn’t understand why people could not simply just throw away their candy wrappers and big mac bags in the trash can a few feet away??? However, the experience also opened my eyes to the difference in litter that was apparent in certain areas of the peninsula. The experience made me realize the issue is far greater than the trash itself, as it relates to both economic and societal nodes as well.

“Faith, Justice, and Global Warming: Discussing the Climate of Our Times”

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Last Tuesday, February 12th, I went to an event on campus called “Faith, Justice, and Global Warming: Discussing the Climate of Our Times.”

 

The event was in the Education Center (Lecture Hall 118) from 4pm-6:30pm and was hosted by Professor Todd LeVasseur and the Sustainability Literacy Institute. The discussion featured Peterson Toscano and Corina Newsome.

 

Toscano described himself as a “queer and quirky” individual from rural Pennsylvania, where evidences of wildlife were abundant. He grew up as a Quaker and explained how it was considered “against the grain” to be gay and come out as a young adult, in his church community. Due to his love and support for the LGBTQ community, he began to view the issues of climate change as one directly associated with civil rights. Therefore, Toscano took a year off and began to educate himself on climate science and got involved with citizens climate policies. He explained that he is now a Bible Scholar who has his own podcast, inviting different perspectives, ranging from everyday people with a story to tell to pastors and preachers from neighboring states. Toscano is interested in hearing what people have to say regarding what the Bible has to say about climate change.

 

Newsome explained that she grew up in the city of Philadelphia and experienced a very different childhood from Toscano, when it comes to nature. She discussed how she was never really exposed to animals until she went to visit them in zoos when she was older. This experience combined with learning about how so many species are endangered and threatened, instantly spiked Newsome’s interest in wildlife preservation and ultimately, climate change as well.

 

She explained that once she brought up this concern of climate change to her church community, she was immediately shauned. She was frustrated, but soon joined the Young Evangelicals for Climate Action in college.

 

Newsome explained that one big change she made in her life was beginning to participate more in her civil engagement duties. In other words, she encouraged us in the audience to become educated on what local and national individuals were running for office (i.e what policies they support) and vote! She said that this was a small, but great way to make your voice heard.

 

Newsome also explained that she has tried to “build bridges” where she can, when it comes to discussing climate change to others. We had a mini discussion during the event about how a large portion of the older generation simply dismisses the topic of climate change. Newsome gave advice of trying to build bridges that lead into the topic. She explained that by not beginning with the topic, but instead relating with the other person on another level, could eventually lead into them trusting your views and opinions moreso.

 

Similarly, Toscano discussed how he typically uses the strategy of letting his audiences come to him. He explained that he tries to come up with things that others are curious about and interested in. Once that connection is formed, he is able to able to form the bridge to how that important thing is affected by climate change. For example, he discussed how many people care about their pets and this is a great conversation starter. He explained that once you ask someone, “Have you ever wondered how climate change affects your pet?,” this makes them curious and ask you to tell them the answer.

 

Another main point that was discussed, was the fact that our world and those individuals within in, will see an increase in suffering due to this wicked problem of climate change. Toscano tied faith into this discussion by bringing up the fact that he feels churches will miss out on an integral way to gain more followers with this situation. He explained that with this suffering, individuals will need more guidance, empathy, and something to believe in; thus wanting to turn to religion. He believes that if churches do not choose to admit climate change is happening, they are missing an opportunity to help those in need.

 

Ultimately, many different points were touched on and brought up during the event regarding how faith, class, and race are all connected back to climate change in different ways. It was interesting to hear these perspectives, because I had never really applied this form of systems thinking prior to learning what it means in class and then attending the event to actually see it in action.